Fear and loathing in Australia

As we muddle through the complexities of the 21st century, progress appears to be stifled by a media keen on angering its audience, rather than informing them.

Don’t follow the leader

Social systems in which influence is focused around one person or a small number of individuals may create environments where new ideas are ignored, and innovation is hindered.

Planet selfie

After the COVID interregnum, more people are traveling to more exotic holiday destinations than ever, but the rise of social media means that many of them seem to be doing it to be seen there, rather than see the places they are going.

The science of X

As the world faces existential problems such as pandemics and climate change, Australian scientists are facing a dilemma about the best way to connect with the wider public.

Singing the party’s song

Vetted and approved social media influencers flourish under the Chinese Communist Party’s tightly regulated social media ecosystem as the party uses their popularity to bolster its dubious legitimacy both domestically and abroad.

People are the answer to the people problem

As social media platforms continue to shape public discourse, addressing the challenges posed by harmful content is crucial and new research on the effectiveness of moderating harmful online content offers valuable insights for policymakers.

Brand X

Elon Musk’s rebrand of Twitter to “X” may seem high risk, amateurish, or even capricious but it is also generating enormous global interest, pushing Twitter closer to his other X brands and clearing the way for a profitable merging of technologies.

#Robodebt

Twitter activists, rather than the traditional media, pushed the campaign to hold government ministers to account through a royal commission

Twitter v Threads

Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk may or may not take their combat into the ring, but their social media empires are already fighting for supremacy.

Social media and political engagement

Social media has undermined democracy in liberal Western states but authoritarian governments also see the political turbulence from uncontrolled information systems as a potential blaze that must be kept under strict control.

Don’t feed the beast

Don’t let tech giants’ bottom line dictate how you engage with social media. By being aware of how algorithms work, what they’re capable of and what their purpose is, you can make the shift from being a sitting duck for advertisers to an active curator of your own feeds.

The social steamroller

Social media began as a way for people to share fun snippets and chat, but under the control of big tech has become a corporate steamroller of advertising and cynical behavioural manipulation.